The Texas Legislature will have to approve the settlement agreement, which will be paid for with public dollars.
DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has agreed to apologize and to settle a whistleblower lawsuit with four former employees for $3.3 million, according to a mediated settlement agreement filed today with the Texas Supreme Court.
The lawsuit against Paxton accused him of firing the former employees after they alleged Paxton committed criminal acts, according to past court filings.
In the settlement, which will be paid for with public dollars, it says, that "Attorney General Ken Paxton accepts that plaintiffs acted in a matter that they thought was right and apologizes for referring to them as 'rogue employees.'" He also agreed to remove a statement from the AG's website that called them "rogue employees."
Paxton had released the statement on Oct. 5, 2020, addressing the employees' allegations and saying he decided to hire an "outside independent prosecutor" to investigate them.
"Despite the effort by rogue employees and their false allegations I will continue to seek justice in Texas and will not be resigning," Paxton's 2020 statement said.
The Texas Legislature will have to approve the settlement agreement.
The deadline to reach a settlement was Thursday.
"I am glad that the OAG has recognized the legitimacy of our claims and the value of the damages we sustained," Mark Penley, one of the former employees said in a statement to WFAA. "I appreciate...
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